


Mistletoe Kisses

by Angelswing



Category: Downton Abbey
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Fluff, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Romance, Season 5 AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-22
Updated: 2020-12-22
Packaged: 2021-03-10 16:40:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,236
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28230273
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Angelswing/pseuds/Angelswing
Summary: Sybbie acquires some mistletoe and makes mischief with it.
Relationships: Tom Branson/Mary Crawley
Comments: 11
Kudos: 25





	Mistletoe Kisses

**Author's Note:**

> This is not in the same universe as _An Itch Under The Skin_. It's a one-off piece of Christmas fluff.

In the early weeks of December 1924, young Sybbie Branson took a great interest in the preparations for Christmas.

She loitered in the kitchen watching Mrs Patmore and Daisy prepare Christmas food, delighting in the moments she was able to help by stirring cake mix or rolling out biscuit dough. She helped hang the baubles and tinsel on the huge tree that appeared in the Great Hall. She watched intently as the servants brought in armfuls of wintry evergreens and looped them around bannisters and over mantelpieces.

She steered clear of the spiky holly after a sharp prick to the finger drew blood, but the green and white of the mistletoe intrigued her.

‘What’s that?’ she asked Andy, curiously, as he fixed small bouquets of a green plant with white berries into a garland.

‘It’s mistletoe, Miss Sybbie,’ he told her, smiling down at her. ‘This is the best of the Christmas plants.’

‘Really? Why?’ Sybbie gazed up at Andy, eager to know what was so special about this little plant.

‘Well, if you get caught under the mistletoe with someone, the tradition is that you have to kiss them,’ Andy said, with a twinkle in his eye.

‘Kiss them?’ Sybbie giggled, eyes wide. ‘Why?’

‘I don’t know really. It’s just what you have to do. That’s why it’s special. You can kiss your sweetheart under it at Christmas or somebody you’d like to be your sweetheart.’

‘Do you have a sweetheart, Andy?’

‘No, but can I tell you a secret, Miss Sybbie?’ Andy crouched down, bringing himself to eye level with the child.

‘Oooo, yes! I won’t tell anyone, I promise!’ Sybbie bounced on her toes in excitement. She loved a secret.

Andy looked quickly left and right then back at Sybbie, lowering his voice to a whisper. ‘I’m rather hoping I might be able to catch Daisy under the mistletoe and kiss her.’

Sybbie gave him a great big smile. ‘Oh, I hope you do. Does it have to be a sweetheart, or can you use it to kiss anyone?’

‘Well, I suppose you could use it on anyone.’

‘And what do you do with it?’

‘You just have to hold it over their head, like so.’ Andy broke off a small sprig and held it over Sybbie’s head then gave her a tiny peck on the cheek.

Sybbie’s grin got broader.

‘May I have a bit of mistletoe, please, Andy?’

‘You can have this bit if you like,’ he said, handing her the sprig he’d broken off. ‘Are you off to cause mischief with it?’

‘I’m just going to make people kiss each other,’ Sybbie said, giggling with excitement.

‘Well, good luck, Miss Sybbie.’

‘Thank you for the mistletoe, Andy!’

And with that Sybbie set off to look for people she could make kiss with her magic bit of mistletoe.

* * *

The first person Sybbie saw was her grandfather, sitting at his desk in the library writing a letter. She made a beeline for him, hiding the mistletoe behind her back.

‘Donk!’

He turned his head to look at her, putting his pen down. ‘Sybbie, darling. What are you doing here?’

‘I came to say hello.’

‘Well, hello to you too. It’ll be teatime soon, so everyone will be here shortly. Do you want to come and sit on my knee and wait with me while I finish off this note to Grandmama Violet?’

Sybbie nodded, keeping her mistletoe hidden as her grandfather lifted her onto his lap. Once she was settled, she brought her secret prize up and held it over her head.

‘Look, Donk, I’m under the mistletoe! That means you have to give me a kiss!’

Robert chuckled. ‘So it does. Then I’d better do that, hadn’t I? I wouldn’t want to break tradition.’

He leaned in and planted a big kiss on Sybbie’s cheek, tickling her ribs as he did so, making her giggle.

‘What’s going on in here then?’ came the familiar voice of her grandmother.

‘It appears Sybbie has found herself some mistletoe,’ Robert answered.

‘Has she, indeed?’

An idea struck Sybbie and, quick as a flash, she held the mistletoe over Donk’s head. ‘Yes, and look, Granny, it’s over Donk’s head now. That means you have to kiss him.’

Cora laughed, coming over to stand behind her husband and granddaughter. ‘Well, if I must, I must, I suppose.’

She bent down to kiss Robert’s cheek only for him to whip his head around at the last second and kiss her lips. Sybbie roared with laughter, delighted with her new game, as her indulgent grandparents chuckled along with her.

‘Goodness, it’s rather uproarious in here today,’ her Aunt Mary observed as she came into the room.

‘Sybbie has mistletoe,’ Cora said by way of explanation.

‘I’m making people kiss, Aunt Mary,’ Sybbie announced, with satisfaction, wriggling off Donk’s knee and scampering over to her aunt. She stood in front of her, arm upstretched, dangling her precious mistletoe over her head. ‘Look, now you have to kiss me.’

Mary’s lips quirked into a smile then she crouched down by her niece, pecking her on the cheek, following her lips with her finger to wipe the small smear of lipstick off the child’s face. ‘There you go, darling.’

Sybbie beamed at her then scooted around her, her face lighting up as she dashed over to her father and threw her arms around his legs as he arrived for tea. ‘Daddy!’

‘Oof! Sybbie! You nearly knocked me over! It’s nice to see you too,’ Tom laughed, scooping his excitable daughter up into his arms and wandering over to stand beside Mary.

Sybbie held her trusty mistletoe up again. ‘I have mistletoe over my head, Daddy. Kiss me!’

‘Oh, you have, have you?’ Tom grinned at her and gave her a big kiss.

Sybbie giggled then promptly stretched her arm out to hold the mistletoe over Mary’s head. ‘And now it’s Aunt Mary’s turn. Kiss her too.’

‘Oh,’ said Mary, slightly flustered. ‘No, you don’t have to.’

‘Yes, he does,’ Sybbie scolded. ‘It’s the rules.’

Tom smiled and leaned over to brush a kiss on Mary’s cheek.

‘There, that was nice, wasn’t it, Aunt Mary?’ Sybbie nodded with satisfaction. ‘Now, put me down, Daddy. I need to get George to kiss me and Marigold when he arrives.’

Tom bent to set her down on her feet, watching her skip off to the doorway to watch for her cousins.

‘Hmm, I can’t imagine George being too thrilled with Sybbie’s mistletoe game,’ Mary said, dryly. ‘He’s already complained to me about Marigold slobbering on him when she tries to kiss him.’

Beside her, Tom grinned. ‘Well, I daresay he’ll make his feelings on the matter known.’

‘That’s rather what I’m worried about.’

Mary and Tom wandered over to the tea station together to accept the cups Barrow handed them. As the conversation turned to estate business, they went to settle side by side on the sofa.

Just as predicted, George was not enamoured of the mistletoe game when Sybbie cornered him and pressed him to kiss her and Marigold.

‘But I don’t want to!’

‘You have to. It’s the rules.’

‘Don’t care! They’re not my rules. And they’re stupid.’

‘They’re everyone’s rules, silly, and they’re not stupid. It’s a trad… tradi… you have to.’

Mary glanced at Tom, rolling her eyes. ‘George, darling, what Sybbie’s trying to say is it’s a tradition. Just kiss each of the girls once and you don’t have to do it again. All right? Just once, Sybbie, then leave him be.’

George pouted, gazing reproachfully at his mother, letting her know the depths of her betrayal, but he grudgingly kissed both of his cousins as Sybbie wafted the mistletoe first over Marigold and then herself.

Satisfied she’d averted a temper tantrum, Mary went back to her conversation with Tom, only to be stopped in her tracks by her niece appearing before her once more, mistletoe still in hand. Sybbie stuck it over Mary’s head again.

‘Aunt Mary needs another kiss, Daddy.’

‘No, I don’t, Sybbie. I’ve already had a kiss.’

‘But that was ages ago.’

‘Sybbie, I think you should put the mistletoe away for a while now,’ Tom said, gently.

‘Just one more, Daddy. Please.’

‘Tom, you really don’t have t-,‘ Mary said, turning her head towards her brother-in-law just as he apparently leaned in to kiss her cheek. They froze, both equally surprised to find themselves lip to lip under Sybbie’s stubby bit of mistletoe.

Sybbie giggled delightedly, her eyes wide and bright as she watched her father and her aunt hastily pull apart, both slightly red in the face. ‘You just kissed on the lips! That’s what married people do. Does that mean you are sweethearts now? Andy said you can kiss your sweetheart under the mistletoe.’

‘What’s going on over here?’ Robert said, coming over to see what Sybbie was laughing about.

‘Daddy and Aunt Mary just kissed ON THE LIPS!’ Sybbie informed her grandfather, gleefully.

Robert looked askance at Mary and Tom, sitting side by side in obvious embarrassment.

‘It was an accident,’ Tom mumbled, not quite meeting anyone’s eyes.

‘Yes, I turned at the wrong time when Sybbie was waving her mistletoe around,’ Mary explained as her father smirked at her, barely concealing his laughter.

‘The mistletoe _made_ them kiss, Donk. It’s like magic. I think that means they’re sweethearts now,’ Sybbie said, nodding her head wisely.

Robert ruffled her hair affectionately. ‘No, darling, I think it takes more than a kiss under the mistletoe to become sweethearts.’

‘But they could be sweethearts,’ Sybbie insisted.

‘I think we should leave your father and Aunt Mary alone for a while, Sybbie. Let’s go and see if you can get me another kiss from Granny.’ With that, Robert took hold of his granddaughter’s hand and led her away, casting an amused glance over his shoulder at the grateful look on Mary’s face.

‘Well,’ said Mary, flicking her eyes over to Tom. ‘That was…’

‘Awkward?’ Tom supplied, glancing sideways at his normally poised sister-in-law.

‘Hmm, a little,’ Mary agreed, flashing Tom a small smile.

‘Sorry.’

‘No, don’t apologise. There’s absolutely no need for that. It was my fault as much as yours,’ Mary, said, picking up her teacup and focusing on that instead of the awkwardness of the moment. ‘So, I was telling you about Mr Drewe and his plans for the pigs.’

‘Yes, you were,’ Tom said, latching gratefully onto the change of subject.

Tea was nearly over when Sybbie popped up behind the sofa, cackling like a tiny demon and dangling her wretched sprig of mistletoe over Tom and Mary’s heads again.

‘Mistletoe!’ she cried, making Mary jump slightly. ‘Kiss! You’ve got to kiss!’

Mary swiftly turned to peck Tom on the cheek.

‘No! On the lips like last time!’ Sybbie insisted, hanging over the back of the sofa behind them, her feet surely dangling as she stretched out the hand brandishing the mistletoe.

‘Sybbie, that’s not-‘ Tom began.

‘On the lips, Daddy!’ Sybbie demanded, thrusting the mistletoe further over Mary’s head.

‘No, Sybbie, it’s n-‘ Tom tried again.

‘On the lips!’

Mary sighed and looked directly at her brother-in-law. ‘Oh, just kiss me, Tom.’

He looked at her, surprised and hesitant.

‘She’s not going to give us any peace until we do what she wants, so let’s just do it and save ourselves the trouble,’ Mary said, resignedly.

‘Are you sure?’ Tom asked, still hesitant.

‘Yes, unless, of course, the thought of kissing me is too hideous for you to contemplate.’

Mary watched as Tom’s lips quirked up into a smile. ‘No, of course not.’

Then he leaned in and pressed a soft, gentle kiss to her lips, keeping his eyes on her all the time. It felt strangely intimate, despite the situation and the family around them in various states of mirth. Sybbie was gleeful, Robert and Cora amused, George disgusted at the whole thing.

To her surprise, Mary found herself wondering about the small jolt she’d felt in her chest at the perfectly innocent kiss. She looked back at Tom, who gave her a quick, embarrassed smile before twisting round to address his daughter.

‘There. Are you satisfied now, you little terror?’

Sybbie nodded, grinning from ear to ear, still clutching her mistletoe as she slid off the sofa to land on her feet.

Mary faced forward again, sipping the last of her tea, trying not to think about her unexpected reaction to a kiss from Tom.

* * *

Sybbie, it turned out, was a menace with her mistletoe, popping up all over the place and demanding people throughout the house kiss each other. She got a wink from Andy when she managed to catch Daisy and insist she let Andy kiss her. The only time she’d been dissuaded was when she’d tried to get Carson to kiss her Grandmama Violet, whereupon she got short shrift from both of them.

To Tom and Mary, it seemed like they were her favoured target. It had got to the point where they now simply leaned in and kissed each other (‘On the lips, Daddy!’) without any fuss. By the end of the week before Christmas, Mary and Tom had kissed each other more in the last fortnight than in all the years they’d known each other.

Mary had thought it would become annoying, except, to her great surprise, it was exactly the opposite. She found herself secretly looking forward to Sybbie appearing out of nowhere with her ever-present sprig of mistletoe. And that was a turn of events she hadn’t anticipated.

Whenever she thought about it – and she thought about it more than she cared to admit even to herself – she got a flutter of excitement in her tummy when Sybbie hove into view with her festive sprig and Tom turned to her with a smile and a quirked eyebrow, as much to say, ‘here we go again’.

As the days went by, Mary found herself discreetly studying Tom, looking at him more than usual, her gaze drawn to his lips more and more often, wondering what it would be like to kiss him properly. Objectively, she’d always known Tom was a good-looking man, but now she began to think of him as an attractive man. More specifically, as a man she found attractive.

She had no idea what he thought of the situation, but it did seem to her like their mistletoe kisses were getting slightly longer, maybe even a smidgeon deeper. But that could have been her mind playing tricks on her. Heaven knows, the whole thing with the mistletoe and the changes it had brought to their relationship was messing a little with her equilibrium.

* * *

Events took a turn that tipped Mary’s equilibrium off its axis two days before Christmas.

She and Tom had worked in the morning but had driven into York after lunch to do some last-minute Christmas shopping. After parking the car, they’d walked the short distance into the city together, stopping outside York Minster to finalise their plans.

‘So, we’ll meet at Betty’s Tearooms in an hour then?’ Tom asked, looking at his watch.

‘Yes. Will that be enough time for you to do everything you need to?’

‘Oh, yes. More than enough. You?’

‘Yes, I have most of my purchases on order, so it’s just a question of collecting them.’

‘Right, I’ll see you there then,’ Tom said.

And then he leaned in and kissed Mary briefly on the lips.

Mary froze, her eyes wide.

Tom went perfectly still too, staring at her, his blue eyes only inches away, before hastily pulling back, scarlet flooding his cheeks. ‘Sorry! Sorry! I don’t know why I did that.’

Mary forced out a small laugh, even as she felt her pulse race and her heart bang in her chest. ‘Force of habit maybe after all these weeks of Sybbie and her mistletoe.’

Tom gave her a weak grin, obviously still flustered. ‘Maybe. Still, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that. I wasn’t thinking.’

Mary put her hand on his sleeve, patting him reassuringly. ‘It’s all right. No harm done. So, I’ll see you in an hour?’

Tom nodded, his eyes skittering away from hers. ‘In an hour. At Betty’s.’

With that, Mary set off heading for the hat shop on Blake Street, resolutely not looking back to see if Tom was watching her walk away, her mind buzzing with that unexpected kiss.

A litany of thoughts ran through her head. Why had he kissed her? He’d said he wasn’t thinking when he did it. What did that mean? That he’d kissed her instinctively? Why? Was he enjoying their mistletoe kisses as much as she was? Was he thinking of her differently too? What did it mean? Did it mean anything?

Mary gave herself a mental shake, sternly telling herself to stop thinking about it, which it turned out made precisely no difference whatsoever. She completed all her errands, picked up all her purchases, all with Tom’s face and Tom’s kiss right at the forefront of her mind.

When she arrived at Betty’s, he was waiting for her, a couple of paper bags in his hands with wrapped gifts poking almost shyly out of them. He still looked a bit nervous, but he greeted her without his lips going anywhere near hers and offered to take a few of her parcels for her.

Tea was a less awkward affair than it could have been. Mary drew on her impressive social skills to keep the conversation going until Tom relaxed a bit and they ended up chatting as they normally would, simply enjoying each other’s company. By the time they finished and paid the bill, it was dark outside. Lights blazed out from the shop windows, highlighting the seasonal displays, as they strolled up the medieval street of Stonegate, back towards the Minster and the place they’d left the car.

Mary settled herself in the passenger seat as Tom loaded all their purchases into the back seat then climbed in beside her. She expected him to start the car, but he hesitated, staring out of the windscreen into the dark night before turning to look at her.

‘I’m sorry about earlier, Mary. About kissing you, I mean.’

‘It’s fine, Tom, honestly.’

‘No, I shouldn’t have done it. I didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable and I’m sorry if I did. I wasn’t- ‘

‘Oh, for goodness sake,’ Mary interrupted him, twisting sideways. She seized the nearest lapel of his coat and yanked him towards her, planting a kiss on his lips. ‘There, now we’re even.’

Tom stared at her, his eyes glinting with the light from the streetlamp. Mary stared back at him, somewhat shocked by her own actions. And then they moved at the same time, lips coming back together in a longer, deeper, altogether messier kiss quite unlike any of their mistletoe kisses.

By the time they pulled apart, Mary’s lipstick, so carefully reapplied at Betty’s, was a mess and Tom’s hat was askew. They stared at each other, both slightly breathless, eyes wide, neither of them knowing what to say.

‘Right,’ said Tom, eventually, voice perhaps a little gravellier than usual. ‘Time to go home, I think.’

‘Yes,’ Mary said, her mouth still full of the taste of Tom. ‘Home.’

* * *

They didn’t talk about it, the kiss in the car. They didn’t talk about it because the kiss in the car was followed by a kiss that night in a shadowy corner of the Bachelor’s Corridor.

They’d been the last ones to turn in after dinner that night, finishing their drinks, wishing goodnight to Barrow, and walking silently up the stairs together. At the top, they’d stopped, each looking hesitantly at the other.

‘Well, goodnight, Mary,’ Tom said, leaning tentatively forward to brush his lips on Mary’s cheek. But his hand had come up, almost of its own volition, and hovered over the slight swell of her hip, barely touching her but _there_.

Mary’s breath hitched in anticipation. When her eyes met Tom’s, she stepped back into the shadows, away from the pool of light on the landing, pulling him with her without touching him as if an invisible string connected them. As her back hit the wall, both of his hands came up to settle on her waist, while she slid hers up the lapels of his dinner jacket, feeling his chest warm and solid under her palms.

They locked eyes for a few brief seconds then Tom dipped his head, capturing her lips with his. And Mary, Mary melted into him, opening her mouth to him when he ran his tongue along the seam of her lips.

His arms went around her, pulling her tighter to him. She skimmed one hand up his jacket, over his neck and around the back of his head, pushing her fingers into his hair to keep him right there, kissing her, even though she knew he wasn’t going anywhere.

The kiss went on and on and on. Mary fancied she could feel Tom’s heart beating ever faster under her palm, even as she knew hers was racing. Tom kissed her like he was dying and she was the oxygen he needed to keep him alive. And she kissed him back just as fervently, tightening her fingers in his hair.

They didn’t stop until the noise of the servants’ door opening and shutting downstairs filtered up to their private corner.

Tom pulled away from her lips, resting his forehead on hers. ‘Mary,’ he whispered, his voice wrecked and full of longing.

Mary tilted her face, seeking his lips again, and they were back into it, the kiss getting deeper, hotter, almost tipping into desperation. Lips and tongues moulding together, learning each other, licking and nipping and chasing.

Another sound from below forced them to stop again. Tom took a step back and Mary followed him, staying close, doing her damnedest to keep body contact with him.

‘Barrow will be up here in a moment,’ Tom said, his voice low, tinged with arousal.

Mary nodded, gazing at his kiss-wet lips, dying to take another taste of him. She pushed forward, fitting her body against his and kissed him again, delighting in the little groan that escaped him as he responded to her. But then he gathered enough presence of mind to step back once more, this time giving her a small push away from him.

‘He can’t find us here. Not like this.’

‘Damn Barrow. I don’t care,’ Mary said, moving to claim Tom’s lips again.

He made a small noise and gently pushed her back after just one brief kiss. ‘You do, Mary. If he catches us, we’ll be the main topic of conversation at breakfast in the servants’ hall tomorrow morning, and you don’t want that.’

Mary sighed in frustration, knowing Tom was right. ‘Just one more kiss, Tom, and then I’ll let you go, I promise.’

Tom nodded, lifting his hands to cup her face, and kissed her again in a way that made Mary’s head spin and her knees weak. He released her as the door downstairs opened once more.

‘Goodnight, Mary,’ Tom breathed, still cradling her face. ‘Sleep well.’

‘Goodnight,’ Mary whispered, lost in a swell of emotions, arousal, and Tom.

He pressed his lips to hers once last time, then ran his hands down her arms to squeeze her fingers before turning to walk down the corridor to his bedroom.

Mary watched him go, a trail of goosebumps down her arms where he’d touched her, half tempted to simply follow him to his room and see what would happen. Then soft footsteps in the Great Hall pulled her to her senses and she turned to find the sanctuary of her own bedroom so she could think about what had just happened between herself and her brother-in-law.

* * *

At breakfast the next morning, Mary strained every sinew to act normally around Tom, not like they’d snogged the faces off each other the night before. Tom took a similar tack, concentrating on his breakfast and the morning paper.

They walked down to the office together, maintaining a careful distance between them at all times, talking shop all the way. But the minute the door of the office closed behind them, they took one look at each other and met in the middle of the floor, hands on faces, lips colliding, tongues tussling.

‘What are we doing, Mary?’ Tom whispered when they stopped for air.

‘I don’t know. I just know I like it,’ Mary told him, darting her head forward to steal another kiss.

Tom groaned and backed her up until they hit the front of Mary’s desk. Mary perched on the edge, reaching up to wind her arms around his neck and pull him closer, deepening the kiss. She shivered as she felt his arms wrap around her, his hands splayed on her back.

‘I can’t stop thinking about kissing you,’ Tom confessed in a low voice when they broke apart. ‘It’s been all I can think about, day and night, for weeks now.’

‘I can’t stop thinking about kissing you either,’ Mary admitted, feathering kisses along his jaw, making her way to his lips again. ‘Since the first day Sybbie produced that mistletoe.’

Tom grinned against her lips. ‘Are you saying this is all down to the power of a small, green, parasitic plant?’

‘I don’t know, Tom. Maybe we’re under some kind of spell,’ Mary smiled, still trading small kisses with him.

‘That’s a very whimsical suggestion from the most unwhimsical woman I know.’

‘I do have another suggestion.’

‘Are you going to share it with me?’

‘Maybe the mistletoe opened up a possibility neither of us had ever considered before. Maybe all those little kisses got us thinking about each other in a different way.’

‘That… is not an altogether ridiculous suggestion.’

‘I know,’ said Mary, claiming his lips again and shutting him up for a good few minutes.

They broke apart as the outer door of the office building banged open and footsteps came down the corridor. Tom backed up, wiping his hand over his mouth to remove any trace of Mary’s lipstick, turning to pick up any random piece of paper he could lay his hands on. Mary straightened up hastily, smoothing her clothes and slipping around the desk to sit demurely in her chair.

Robert walked in the door seconds later. ‘Ah, good, you’re both here.’

‘Papa. What brings you here?’

‘I was taking a walk and thought I’d pop in and just say how extremely impressed I’ve been with both of you and the way you’ve handled the estate this year. I know it’s not been easy, but you’ve done a sterling job, both of you.’

‘Thank you, that’s kind of you to say so, isn’t it, Tom?’ Mary said, smiling sweetly at her father, her heart still thumping about how close he’d come to walking in on them acting in a decidedly un-brother-and-sisterly way.

‘It is. It’s all in a day’s work, but it’s nice to know we’ve passed muster.’

Robert looked at Mary curiously. ‘Are you quite all right, Mary? You look a little flushed.’

‘Oh, no, I’m fine. It must just be the cold and the brisk walk from the house.’

‘Well, I hope you haven’t got too much to do here today. It is Christmas Eve after all. Make sure you finish in plenty of time to be back at the house for luncheon.’

‘Of course, Papa.’

‘Right, then I’d better leave you to it. Come on, Isis, let’s finish our walk, shall we?’ Robert said to his ever-present canine companion before striding out the door.

Tom waited until they heard the outer door close again before looking over at Mary. ‘That was close.’

‘Too close,’ she nodded in agreement. ‘But I don’t think he suspected anything.’

* * *

‘I rather think something might be going on between Mary and Tom,’ Robert said, settling into the comfortable chair next to his wife’s dressing table as she held up earrings to decide which pair to wear to luncheon. ‘In a romantic sense, I mean.’

Cora looked over at him in surprise. ‘What? Why on earth do you think that?’

‘Mainly because when I went down to the office earlier, I saw them kissing through the window. And when I went in, Mary was all flushed and Tom had her lipstick on his face.’

‘Oh, my goodness! Really?’ Cora put the earrings down and gave her husband her full attention. ‘What did you say to them?’

‘Don’t be silly, I didn’t say anything. I was hardly going to start a conversation about it,’ Robert replied, a look of distaste on his face at the thought of talking about feelings. ‘No, I banged about a lot in the corridor to make sure they’d hear me coming, so by the time I made an entrance, they were at least six feet apart.’

‘So, they don’t know you saw them?’ Cora looked thoughtfully at him.

‘No, I don’t believe so.’

‘Hmm, Mary and Tom. So, what do we think about that?’

‘Well, I don’t mind admitting I was somewhat shocked when I saw them, but I was thinking about it on the way back and I think I’m less surprised about it than I thought I would be.’

‘Oh, I’m so glad you said that, darling. Me too. They spend so much time together, I suppose it’s only natural that they might start to have feelings for each other.’

‘So, are we saying we approve then? If they bring it out in the open, I mean.’

‘Do you think it’s wrong if we do? I mean, what about Sybil?’

Robert pursed his lips, thinking of his much-missed youngest daughter. ‘Much as it pains me to say it, our darling Sybil has been gone now for many years. Neither of us has expected Tom to remain wedded to her memory for the rest of his life.’

‘No, but an affair with her sister? Is it right that we condone that?’ Cora said, a troubled look on her face.

‘Cora, if it’s just an affair, I don’t think we need to worry about condoning it. I hardly think they will announce that. At least, I hope they won’t. What they do behind closed doors is their own business, and, as Mary’s father, the less knowledge I have about that the better.’

Cora smiled, reaching out to pat Robert’s hand, comfortingly. ‘So, what you’re saying is that you think they’ll only say something if it’s more serious than that.’

‘I rather think so, yes. Barring any accidental revelations like this morning, I suspect they will only tell us about any change in the nature of their relationship if we’re looking at possible marriage.’

‘Goodness, that’s a bit of leap from a kiss in the office.’

‘Do you disagree?’

‘No, I don’t. I think you’re right. How long do you think it’s been going on?’

‘I haven’t the foggiest. I know they were embarrassed to have kissed on the lips when Sybbie started touting her mistletoe all over the place, so maybe not too long.’

‘And you’re sure you couldn’t have been mistaken in what you saw?’

Robert raised his eyebrows at his wife’s question. ‘Well, I have never kissed anyone other than you in the way they were kissing, my darling, so you tell me.’

Cora’s mouth twitched into a smile. ‘Definitely not fraternal, then.’

‘Most decidedly not.’

‘Then what is our position if it is serious?’

‘What do you think we should do?’

Cora tilted her head, contemplating the situation. ‘I think we both know Tom loved Sybil with all his heart. And Mary loved Matthew too in the end. They’ve been through so much, the pair of them. If they make each other happy, I think we should be happy for them. Isn’t that what we’ve always wanted for our children, Robert?’

‘Yes, it is. Although, I never expected to see the same man making two of my daughters happy.’

‘But you don’t object?’

Robert shook his head. ‘It’s Tom, Cora. He’s already part of the family and I’m very fond of him. If he’s brave enough to take Mary on, I will shake his hand and wish him well.’

Cora smiled, leaning forward to gently kiss her husband. ‘I think Tom already has the measure of Mary and knows how to handle her.’

Robert screwed up his face a little at that. ‘I’d rather you didn’t put it that way after what I saw this morning.’

Cora giggled. ‘I’m sorry, darling. But we’re agreed then. If they come to us, we’re receptive and supportive of their relationship.’

‘Yes, we’re agreed. Although, there is one thing that could render this whole conversation null and void.’

‘Tom going to America.’

‘Yes.’

‘Well, if he goes, I suppose we have our answer on the nature of their relationship.’

‘I suppose we do.’

* * *

Try as she might, during tea that afternoon, Mary couldn’t shake the feeling that her mother was hiding a secret. She was acting strangely, beaming at Mary, giving her soft, happy looks. Perhaps it was just the Christmas festivities making her seem so delighted, but it was definitely not the norm.

Tom came to stand next to her as she selected a piece of cake at the tea station.

‘What’s up with Cora today?’

‘What do you mean?’ Mary said, glancing curiously at him.

‘If she’s asked me once, she’s asked me a thousand times how my day was, whether we got everything done in the office we needed to.’

Mary frowned. ‘She’s done the same thing to me. She’s been acting strangely all afternoon. All… benevolent.’

‘Benevolent?’

‘Yes, you know, warm and kindly and-‘

‘I know what benevolent means, Mary. But why? I mean, not that she’s not always kind, but why the focus on our day?’

Mary froze. ‘Oh, no.’

‘What?’

‘She knows.’

‘Knows what?’

‘About us. About our…’ Mary darted her eyes around the room, finding first her mother then her father, then she turned sideways to look at Tom. ‘She knows about our thing. You know all the…’

Tom’s eyes widened as he looked at Mary. ‘How can she know?’

‘Papa must not have been as oblivious as we thought. If he suspected something, Mama would be the first person he’d tell.’

Tom kept his eyes on Sybbie, trying not to look at his parents-in-law to gauge their level of knowledge of his love life. ‘What do we do?’

‘What do we do?’ Mary looked at him like he was out of his mind. ‘We don’t do anything!’

‘But they know.’

‘So? Tom, we haven’t talked about what this means. I’m definitely not announcing anything to the whole family until we know what this is.’

Tom hesitated for a moment, opening his mouth as if to say something and then shut it again.

‘What?’ said Mary, impatiently.

‘This is probably not the right time to say this, but I think I know what this is. On my part, at least.’

Mary stared at him, feeling her heart beat faster in her chest. ‘Do you?’

‘Yes.’

Mary waited, but he didn’t say anything else, just took a rather infuriatingly slow sip of his tea.

‘Well? Aren’t you going to tell me?’

Tom glanced sideways at her. ‘Do you want me to tell you? Here, I mean, or do you want me to tell you when we’re somewhere a bit more private?’

Mary stared at him, torn between wanting to know now, now, now, and worried about other people overhearing whatever it was he was going to say. She made a decision.

‘Tell me now.’

Tom turned his head to look at her, his eyes bluer than ever. He kept his voice low, for her ears only. ‘I’m falling in love with you, Mary. I think I have been for quite a while now.’

Mary gazed at him, her heart leaping in her chest. Tom gazed back, seemingly comfortable with laying his heart bare in front of her like this.

And just like that Mary knew. She knew what it was she’d been feeling.

‘Sybbie,’ she called, still looking at Tom.

‘Yes, Aunt Mary?’

‘Do you still have your mistletoe?’

‘Yes, it’s right here,’ Sybbie said, pulling a rather forlorn-looking sprig out of her pocket.

‘May I borrow it?’

Sybbie came over, handing the mistletoe over to her aunt.

Mary lifted the sprig, holding it over Tom’s head.

‘I love you, too,’ she said and kissed him, a full, proper kiss, right there in front of her whole family.

Dimly, she registered a number of things happening all at the same time.

Tom fumbled his cup onto the table beside them and slid his arms around her.

Sybbie gasped.

Her mother giggled and clapped her hands together delightedly.

Her father barked out a surprised laugh.

Her sister let out a deep groan.

Her grandmother sighed.

Her aunt practically cackled before saying loudly, ‘I believe I had Christmas, Mama. That’s a bottle of champagne you owe me.’

Mary dropped the mistletoe and wrapped her arms around Tom’s neck, kissing him fervently.

When they pulled apart, she leaned back in his arms, gazing at him. ‘Does this mean you’re not going to Boston anymore?’

‘I rather think it does,’ he replied, smiling at her.

‘Thank God for that,’ Mary said, leaning back in for another kiss.


End file.
